Trope of the Week: Drug Lord Mexican

Need a drug lord in your story? Well, it can’t be a white dude. That would be silly! Make him a crazy Mexican who is only interested in money and power! That will be super original, and it has certainly never been done before.

Tuco Salamanca from Breaking Bad

Why this can be bad: Hopefully you caught the sarcasm up above. Despite what most media will tell you, not every Mexican person is involved in a cartel or gang. Many representations of Mexican people, especially men, have them in some sort of gang scenario either dealing drugs or killing people. While the representation of cartels has some basis in reality, it is an over-represented cliche. When contemporary dramas introduce drug dealers, the characters brought to fill the roles are almost exclusively Black or Latino, and these are typically the only roles…